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A Pizza-Eating Feat for the Ages

Posted by Daniel Zemans, Nov 1, 2009

Stronger than ever as the month comes to an end [Photograph: Ron Kaplan]

Just three weeks ago, I introduced you to a man who was a week into his effort to complete what might be the greatest pizza-eating feat in the history of humankind. Thanks to an article in the Chicago Tribune, we now know the man's name is Craig Scharoff, he has a remarkably forgiving palate, and that if he made it through the entire month of October eating no food other than sausage pizza (with optional additional toppings), he stood to make a four-figure sum.

Well, October has come to an end and Scharoff can expect a check from his business partner, Ron Kaplan. To anyone who followed the thread at LTH Forum about Scharoff's quest, his success is no surprise. The man made it clear by the middle of October that he was an unstoppable pizza-eating force. He happily wolfed down pies regardless of their origin, seemingly getting as much pleasure from concession stand slices as he did from meticulously crafted high-quality pies.

Scharoff claims the challenge was easy. When asked if there was ever a point that he thought he might not make it, he said "not even close" and that he could do another 30 days if not for all the pictures and documenting he had to do. Both here and on the LTH thread, people questioned the effect of the challenge on Scharoff's health. Not only did he eat absolutely no vitamins or take any aids in the vein of Metamucil, but he never felt sick the entire month and, as of October 29, he lost 6 pounds since the challenge began.

At 4:00 this morning, Scharoff ate some of his wife's homemade wild rice soup. That was to be followed by a wide array of foods while tailgating before this afternoon's Bears game. Tonight, this great man, this pizza-eating machine, this hero to us all...tonight, he plans to eat pizza.

[Update, 11/2/09 at 1:20 pm] It turns out that Scharoff had a lot of leftovers from his tailgate, so he did not return to pizza last night. Too bad for him as it turns out the human digestive system can get used to eating nothing but pizza and does not react well to a return to a varied diet. Finally, Scharoff had a change of heart and instead of demanding the $2,000 payment from Kaplan, the pair decided to donate the money to the Northern Illinois Food Bank. Kudos to them both!

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